Our lab studies plant cell wall dynamics. Plant cell walls contain networks of carbohydrates and proteins that interact with each other and change in composition and organization during cell growth. We seek to measure changes in cell wall architecture during growth, to understand how interactions between cell wall components influence cell wall structure and remodeling, and to identify and characterize new genes that influence cell wall dynamics. This research will inform efforts to use plant cell walls, which are an abundant and renewable resource, to provide sustainable food, materials, and energy.

12/8: Check out a news story about Penn State's new super-resolution microscope and our study of guard cell walls.

9/9: Our addendum on the connections between xyloglucan, cellulose, and microtubules in plant cells is online in Plant Signaling & Behavior!

9/1: The National Science Foundation has funded our Major Research Instrumentation proposal, along with 21 additional Penn State research groups, for a new super-resolution microscope that will be available for researchers at Penn State and beyond to use. We look forward to taking our imaging experiments to the next level of detail, revealing new science along the way!

8/31: Our paper with the Richard, Cosgrove, and Zhu groups on using click chemistry to investigate the process of lignification in plant cell walls is online in Frontiers in Plant Science!

8/19: Congratulations to Thomas, who successfully defended his PhD dissertation today and is the first PhD graduate of the Anderson Lab!

7/15: The National Science Foundation has funded our project with the Puri and Wang groups, entitled Integrated Molecular, Dynamic Imaging, and Modeling Analysis of Stomatal Guard Cell Walls. We are excited to pursure this work, which aims to improve our knowledge of how plant cell walls control stomata, which are key regulators of photosynthesis and water use in plants.

7/9: Our paper with the Chen group on the synthesis of click-compatible sugar analogs for metabolic labeling of plants and other organisms is online in Carbohydrate Research!

5/24: Our addendum with the Puri and Wang groups on functional analysis of guard cell walls is online in Plant Signaling & Behavior!

8/10: Our Fast Farming crowdfunding campaign for research to support sustainable agriculture was a success! Thanks to donations from many generous individuals, we will be able to search for genes that confer drought and heat tolerance in plants.